Stunned caretaker boss Steve Lovell told his youngsters they have to learn quickly after Gills' Checkatrade Trophy drama.

Far from enjoying the ride in their 7-5 win over Reading under-21s last night, Lovell couldn't believe what he was seeing as Gills blew a 4-1 half-time lead.

They eventually got the job done after Reading hit back to make it 4-4 and Lovell took the chance to remind the young players in a mixed Gillingham team what's required.

He said: "It was a good opportunity for them.

"I've had a little go at them at the end of the game but they've got to learn.

"They've got to learn and they will learn.

"If they don't then they can't be around us for too much longer but they're good lads and they've got to start taking on board what we're trying to achieve here and not let themselves down.

"We want to win every game but it's about performances.

"If you perform well you will get results.

"First half we performed well and it's no coincidence we were 4-1 up. Second half at times we didn't perform well and the opposition scored goals.

"I build our success on performances and if you perform on a consistent level you will get more wins than you get losses.

"But the second half was definitely not a very good performance although saying that we still end up winning the game.

"I know what they can do and they can do better than they've done, a few of them, but don't get me wrong, over the 90 minutes, I think they've done a lot of good things.

"But it's the bad things they do, the bad habits they get into, that we've got to get out of them and quickly if they're going to succeed in getting to the first team."

Read the match report from Gills' 7-5 win over Reading and vote for your star man